open-minded moment

THIS is what you need to do to connect with your people (supporters, prospects, partners, staff, leadership and volunteers all) and move them to take the actions you need.

Take newsjacking one step further—to integrate what’s going on inside of your peoples’ heads—as well as in the world around them and you, to focus your marketing messages, format, channel and delivery time. Here’s a great example…

Friday was tough here in the Northeast. The real blizzard was still en route but the pelting ice outside made outside play impossible. Every child I know was yearning for snow and, with school closed or cut to a half day, sick of being stuck inside. Ugh!

So when this tweet and the email below crossed my lens, I thought, “Wow, these folks really get me. And if they get me, I’m more interested in what they have to say.” (post continues below email)

Just a few minutes after I saw the famed science-fiction mastermind had passed away, I stumbled on this letter from lifelong library supporter Bradbury crediting his UCLA library workspace for inspiring him to crank out The Fireman in just nine days. Here’s a excerpt:READ MORE

Yesterday was International Women’s Day (IWD), an occasion to celebrate the accomplishments of women worldwide. I was thrilled (and, frankly, amazed) to see the creativity and diversity of nonprofit campaigns linked to IWD this year, from IRC’s Wake Up campaign to Doctors Without Borders’ four-part IWD video series.

Nothing is more important than communicating the right message to your network at the right place and time! And leveraging a news item or special day by connecting your organization’s issues to it (when relevant!) is a tried-and-true nonprofit marketing strategy with a strong ROI (return on investment).

That’s why I was looking forward to the emails I expected to receive on Earth Day last week, from the environmental organizations I support and others. Earth Day 2010 had delivered so many effective nonprofit marketing models, that I anticipated some great outreach.

Not that Earth Day has been a global success in any way in mobilizing us all to treat the environment more respectfully, but it is a marker heralded broadly in the media (mainstream and not) and leveraged by many advertisers in the New York Times last week. When an issue is addressed like this, it becomes embedded in our heads. Those advertisers knew that Earth Day presented an ideal opportunity of environmental issues being as front-and-center in the news as they get and piggybacked on the day with relevant advertising. An open-minded moment.

How basic then, you’d think, that environmental organizations – tasked solely on the issues at the core of Earth day – would reach out to the network of current and recent supporters. But most organizations I expected to hear from — e.g. Environmental Working Group (marketing geniuses, in a totally genuine way), Sierra Club, Appalachian Mountain Club — didn’t come through. I was poised to re-up our Sierra Club membership that day, but wasn’t invited to do so. Lost opportunity!

Kudos to Catalog Choice – which sent methis email, so-so in headline but spot-on on tying its campaign to Earth Day and my open-minded moment.

Here’s how to ensure you’re poised to capitalize on notable days (holidays and other days) and headlines.

Develop a editorial calendar around known notable days (anything from Mother’s Day, to the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution — any day that’s notable in relation to your issue. Those days that generate mainstream and other media coverage are the priority – as they position your outreach for success by getting folks thinking about the day. Your outreach just plugs right into that open-minded moment.

Brainstorm around the likely news events that are worthwhile triggers for your outreach.Be prepared, before the moment of, so you can use that moment asap, when your network is open mind.